Lahti, Finland – Anchorage, Alaska’s Kikkan Randall led three Americans into the points in a World Cup skiathlon event Saturday in Lahti. Randall was 12th followed by Jessie Diggins, of Afton, Minn., in 18th and Vermont’s Liz Stephen in 21st as Norway’s Therese Johaug took the win in the race with 7.5k legs in both classic and freestyle technique. Dario Cologna won the men’s 15k x 15k where Andover, N.H.’s Kris Freeman led the U.S. men in 32nd.

Randall, who was 16th after the classic leg, moved up four positions in freestyle.

“A solid day for me and a solid day for the team with almost four in the top 30,” she said, indicating that she has now rebounded after contracting a stomach bug following the World Cup’s stop last month in Poland. “The classic course was very challenging with big climbs and fast downhills with icy turns. Our techs did an awesome job with the skis. The skate course skied really well with a good mix of climbs, fast descents and also flat working sections. The conditions were super fast and icy which made most of the turns pretty dicey. Staying on your feet and avoiding collisions was definitely key today.”

Stomach flu also affected World Cup rookie Diggins.

“Going into the race I had no expectations,” she acknowledged. “That stomach flu thing really hit me hard and took quite a while to bounce back from, so I just wanted to use today as a chance to get back into the World Cup racing and not worry about where I would place. And in general that kind of attitude is much better for me and produces better, and more fun, race experiences.”

Randall remained in fourth in the overall FIS World Cup cross country skiing standings following Saturday’s race.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Cross Country World Cup
Lahti, Finland – Mar. 3, 2012
Classic/Freestyle Skiathlon

Women’s 7.5km x 7.5km:

Men’s 15km x 15km: